Zombies and Cookies

No, this isn't a blog about zombies eating cookies, although I think they'd try if they saw what's been in our kitchen these past few weeks.

My husband has been on a baking frenzy - cooking up all of his old family recipes and mine too. We have ice box cookies, chocolate crinkles, mountains of fudge, sugar cookies, peanut brittle. I could go on but I'm making myself hungry.

That's the trick this time of year - trying to think of something besides the mounds of cookies. And "rewarding" myself every five minutes.

So to move on, let's talk zombies. My Zombie Valentine is due out in stores any day. And I have a copy right here for a lucky winner!

Lonely New Orleans voodoo shop owner Amie Baptiste decides she’s had enough romantic disappointments. Amie is going to find mister right come hell, high water or voodoo. But when she uses magic to call the perfect man for her, she should have been more specific. Who knew her ideal mate died 198 years ago? When a sexy, well-spoken zombie gentleman shows up at her door, Amie gets much, much more than she bargained for.

Tell me your favorite cookie and you're entered. I'll pick a winner this coming Tuesday.

The Power of a Song and Story

I was driving this morning, and a song came on from the soundtrack to the movie City of Angels. As I was listening to the song, I could see the movie in my mind, because the lyrics expressed the feelings of the movie so well, I couldn't help but feel like I could hear the thoughts of the main character, his desire.

If you haven't seen the movie, it is good, but the ending offends every sensibility I have as a romance author, be prepared. That said, I still really liked it, and draw a lot of inspiration from that film. The love scene has to be one of the best I've seen in a movie, ever. There's a vulnerability that I really try to touch at in the love scenes I write.

This got me thinking about a documentary I watched about the origins of art and music. The documentary went through ancient civilization and tried to find the oldest form of living art. By that, they were trying to find an artform still practiced today that is identical to the older incarnations of that art. They came to the conclusion that the oldest living art is the art of the Aborigines in Australia. The pictures and forms currently created by modern aboriginal artists are nearly identical to works that are thousands of years old.

They discovered that the longevity of these iconic images can be attributed to stories sung by the Aborigines around fires as they look at the pictures on rocks and caves around them. The music ties so deeply to the imagery, that modern artists reproduce the images identically, and the images inspire the story in an endless cycle, sustaining both artforms.

The modern incarnation of this is movie soundtracks. You can't hear a John Williams score without being about to immediately identify it, from Superman. Ba ba ba ba baaaa ba ba ba. Baaa ba ba ba ba, BA DA DA! You just heard it in your head, didn't you.

Or Indiana Jones, Da da da Daaaa, duh da da. Buh da da DAAAAA, buh da DA DA DA!

Need I go on. Now who here can see Christopher Reeves, and Harrison Ford in their head?

I know some authors create a songlist to accompany their books, and frankly, that's brilliant, because of this mental connection we make between song, art, and story. I wish I could, but I have a hard time finding music that fits with my ideas. It would be awesome to have someone "score" a book.

But I guess none of us get that,

Until they make a movie.......

Hmmmmm

Jess

Blogging...something else to feel guilty about

I have a huge talent for guilt. I feel guilty that I'm not writing. I feel guilty that I ate an extra piece of chocolate. I feel guilty that I didn't jog...that my bathrooms are disgusting...that my kids aren't all shiny and sweet smelling. And now with the age of the Internet I get to feel guilty that I don't blog.

Lovely, isn't it?

See, I'm supposed to blog here every Friday. You will notice if you go back in time that I've missed a couple of day, and a few others slipped to Saturday or Sunday. You will also notice that other authors here have missed, but somehow that doesn't lessen my guilt. Because, you know, I'm supposed to do better. Hmmm....I'm thinking I can pin this guilt onto some elementary teacher in my past...or my mother. Mothers are always good for such things.

Now, if it was just this blog it would be that bad, but wander by my personal blog...there are dust bunnies the size of my car roaming around there. Or Shapeshifterromance. I actually told them I was going to leave because I was so bad and they said no, don't worry about it. I still feel guilty. Then there is the Nocturne blog at eHarlequin, my LiveJournal...and probably more I am forgetting. None hear from me more than sporadically. Let's face it, I just stink at blogging. But I'm swell at signing up for them.

So, this is a public warning for anyone thinking of asking me to participate in a group blog on a regular basis--Don't. It will save me some guilt and you having to clean up all those dust bunnies.

How about you? What do you do to set yourself up for guilt?

Words, Words, Words

A couple weeks ago, I published the winners of a newspaper contest on making up new words.

And that got me thinking about how language is constantly changing and how all of us–as readers and writers–need to keep up with the latest and the greatest.

In keeping with that thought, here are the newest words that have been accepted by the new Oxford American Dictionary.

Unfriend–defined as a verb which means to remove someone as a friend a social networking site. Unfriends has been named word of the year by the New Oxford American Dictionary because, according to one senior lexicographer, "It has both current and potential longevity."

Other finalist words:

Hashtag–the hash sign added to a word or phrase that lets Twitter users search for tweety similarly tagged. (Maybe someone who knows something about Twitter can explain this one...it makes no sense to me!)

Intexticated–people who are distracted by texting while driving. Love this one! And I think each and every one of those intexticated people should be stopped, pulled out of their cars, their vehicles should be impounded and they should be charged a HUGE fee to get them back.

Sexting--sending sexually explicit pictures by cellphone. I actually knew this one, but that’s because I watch Law & Order.

Freemium--a business model in which some basic services are provided for free.

Funemployed--people who take advantage of newly unemployed status to have fun or pursue other interests.

Birthers–the conspiracy theorists challenging President Barack Obama's U.S. birth certificate.

Choice mom--a woman who chooses to be a single mother.

Deleb--a dead celebrity. Love this one, too. Says so much! And isn't it true...we hear more about them after they're gone than we ever did while they were alive, as if being dead suddenly makes them so special.

Tramp stamp--referrs to a tattoo on the lower back, usually on a woman. Oh, how true!

Huge Science Fiction Romance Giveaway!

Hi everyone!

It's that time of year again, time for massive book giveaways online!

Yay holidays!

Head on over to the Galaxy Express for the SFR Holiday Blitz.

Twelve different blogs have joined forces for a massive 30 book giveaway. Stroll through all the connected links, leave a message and be part of the frenzy. It's a lot of fun.

I've donated two signed copies of Beyond the Rain, but there is a treasure trove of books being given away.

Have fun everyone!

Jess

Black Friday....where I was LAST week.

It has been a week since the Black Friday insanity. How many of you were out by 4 a.m.? 5? 6? My mother and I got to Walmart around 6:20 a.m.--not that crazy for me since I am up by 6 pretty much every morning anyway. What was insane was 1.) the line to get in...Yes, they were keeping people from entering because the store was over capacity and 2.) the complete lack of deals.

The second is what annoyed me. In the past there have been bins of things like DVDs and bargain video games sitting in the aisles. Not this year, and the one thing I really came for was already sold out. Oh, and the line!! That may actually have been the problem. It was so long it wrapped around the store touching about every aisle. You couldn't get through it or around it. This completely blocked any real shopping.

We left empty handed and headed to Target.
Target was better. The line was easy to stomach and there were a FEW sales. I won't say deals because I really don't think you could use that term fairly, BUT on checkout we did get a rebate gift card (mine was $10). That was nice.

From there we headed to Toys 'r us (them of the accidental double charging--anyone get hit with that?), Barnes and Noble (We actually got there and realized it was before 9 a.m. We had to come back.) and JoAnn's Fabrics. All said and done, I got a lot of presents, but I did not feel like I got any real deals and I really felt like merchants left money on the table by not having good sales and not having enough stock.

What about you? Did you hit Black Friday deals? How about Cyber Monday? How do you feel about the Christmas spending season so far?

The Joy of Reading

Okay, I'll admit it...I get bored easily. Once I read that someone who finds themselves in that situation frequently has a "small" mind. If that's truly the case, then mine must be about the size of a walnut! With my lack of mobility over the past few weeks, I've had to face my boredom repeatedly. (It's amazing how much of what we do requires bending, lifting, and stooping!!) I've also had to face that Vicodin and creativity don't go hand in hand. (It's hard to be creative when said creativity is a little on the foggy side, so spending a lot of time writing hasn't been too much of an option either.)

So how have I been amusing myself?? Well, I've watched movies; sewed (at last count I'm up to ten throw pillows); done as much house cleaning as I can; and read. A LOT! Sci Fi/Fantasy; Romance; Mystery; Anthologies...C.J. Box; Nora Roberts; Elizabeth Peters; Bill Bryson; Jim Butcher. I've borrowed anything that I could get my hands on, plus made a trip to the bookstore to add to my supply. As a result, instead of being hemmed in by four walls, I've spent time via these books in Colorado, 19th Century England, Alera, and right now, I'm following the intrepid Vicki Bliss and her art thief (reformed) boyfriend, Sir John Tregarth, around Europe and Egypt as they try and discover just who stole Tutankhamon's mummy.

I've also, from a writer's perspective, spent time thinking about what makes these books special and so entertaining to me. They're all very different. For example, in a love scene, Nora Roberts gets right to it, if you know what I mean, where as Elizabeth Peters only "alludes" to what happens between the hero and heroine, yet I love both of these authors. So is it the characters? The settings? The snappy dialogue? The turn of a phrase? I don't know...I wish I did...all I know is that each one has helped turn what could've been a long, boring day into something interesting.

How about you? Have you ever considered why your favorite books are "favorites"? What is it about a particular read that makes you sad when you reach the words, "The End"?

That's it for this week...time to go catch up with Vicki and John!!! Happy reading and have a good one!

Best,
Shirley